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Category: Productivity

Adam Engst 81 comments

Do You Use It? Apple Services

This week's Do You Use It? poll asks which Apple services: iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and Apple Arcade—and the Apple One bundle—you both pay for and actually use.

Adam Engst 10 comments

Do You Use It? Finder Tags See Focused Use

The results of our poll asking how often you use Finder tags are in, and while tags aren’t broadly popular, being reminded of what they can do for you might encourage you to use them in appropriate situations.

Adam Engst 4 comments

Arc Web Browser Introduces Focused AI Features

The Browser Company of New York has unveiled Arc Max, a collection of five experimental AI tools. From Ask on Page to Tidy Downloads, we explore how Arc Max enhances browsing. But are these AI tools genuinely useful? Learn how The Browser Company approaches AI and follow along to see which features survive the trial period.

Julio Ojeda-Zapata 4 comments

Two Laptop Stands Appropriate for a 15-inch MacBook Air

The new 15-inch MacBook Air with its large screen awakened Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s interest in laptop stands. He wants one that is robust but portable, and adjustability is a must. He found two stands that qualify in different, ingenious ways.

Adam Engst 1 comment

Do You Use It? iPhone 14 Pro Always-On Display

This week’s Do You Use It? poll asks owners of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max if they keep the Always-On display enabled or disabled everyday use.

Adam Engst 18 comments

Do You Use It? Proxy Icons Quietly Boost Productivity

The results of our poll asking about proxy icon use are in, and we hope that this article’s explanation of what proxy icons are good for encourages those who haven’t used them to give them a try.

Adam Engst 7 comments

Arc 1.5 Brings Back Today Tab Syncing

Regular unpinned “Today” tabs once again sync between windows and devices in the recently released Arc Web browser. The Browser Company explains why Today tab syncing was removed and then restored a few months later. 

Adam Engst 6 comments

Do You Use It? Spotlight Sees Targeted Use for Finding Files and Launching Apps

The results of our poll asking how often people use Spotlight and what they use it for are in. While Spotlight enjoys broad usage, by far the most common features are finding files and launching apps—most of its more esoteric capabilities aren’t heavily used.

Adam Engst 18 comments

Copytables Simplifies Extracting Tabular Data from Web Pages

If you’ve ever been frustrated by trying to copy a column of data—or even just a handful of cells—from within a table on a Web page, get the Copytables browser extension for Chrome-based browsers, Firefox, or Safari.

Adam Engst 5 comments

Do You Use It? Launchpad Doesn’t Compete for Longtime Mac Users

We have the results in our Do You Use It? poll about Launchpad in macOS. While TidBITS readers probably aren’t representative of the broader Mac user base, most use some other method of quickly launching apps.

Adam Engst 11 comments

Emergency SOS via Satellite Saves Lives in Maui Fires

Five people trapped in a van during the Maui wildfires were able to use the iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via satellite feature to coordinate a rescue by emergency responders.

Adam Engst 13 comments

Discovering the Hidden Power of Google Sheets

Faced with the problem of wanting to build a budget calculation spreadsheet for his running club, Adam Engst embarks on a journey during which he learns that modern spreadsheets can go far beyond basic row and column calculations.

Adam Engst 16 comments

Do You Use It? Stage Manager Sees Weak Adoption

The results from our first pair of Do You Use It? polls are in, and if TidBITS readers are representative, Stage Manager hasn’t been a big win for Apple.

Adam Engst 30 comments

Innovative Web Browser Arc Reaches 1.0 Release

The new Web browser Arc has left its beta releases and waitlist behind. If you’re unhappy with your browser or perform significant work in a collection of websites every day, Adam Engst recommends you try Arc. 

Adam Engst 13 comments

Melio Makes Payments for Small Businesses Easy

Faced with the desire to make it easier to pay TidBITS writers every month without a regular fee, Adam Engst discovers Melio, a payment service that offers ACH-based payments for free.